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2.99 AVERAGE
2.99 AVERAGE
This was a quick read and I really enjoyed it.
The characters were believable and you became engaged with them.
The story was well written and well researched. I enjoy good historical books and this was no exception.
I liked that the main character didn't listen to what was being said but made up his own mind. I thought his man servant was so funny and added much to the book.
A great book to read if you like history with great characters.
The characters were believable and you became engaged with them.
The story was well written and well researched. I enjoy good historical books and this was no exception.
I liked that the main character didn't listen to what was being said but made up his own mind. I thought his man servant was so funny and added much to the book.
A great book to read if you like history with great characters.
I listened to this on my Overdrive app from the library. I picked it up b/c it was YA and from Philippa Gregory who I have been wanting to read lately.
I wanted to like it--church inquiry, convents, etc are interesting. And there was a decent mystery in it. But it was just super slow. And then after the mystery was resolved, there was still another 1/4 of the book w/a new very off the wall mystery. I guess it was to set up the relationship and mission of the 4 characters in the next 2 books?
I don't know. Maybe it would have been more interesting if I'd read it myself. The narrator was a bit dry.
Meh.
I wanted to like it--church inquiry, convents, etc are interesting. And there was a decent mystery in it. But it was just super slow. And then after the mystery was resolved, there was still another 1/4 of the book w/a new very off the wall mystery. I guess it was to set up the relationship and mission of the 4 characters in the next 2 books?
I don't know. Maybe it would have been more interesting if I'd read it myself. The narrator was a bit dry.
Meh.
Philippa Gregory's foray into YA literature is a big departure from her usual books. Not only is she writing for a younger audience, but these books are entirely fictional, with made-up characters and everything. Of course, this book is still rich in the historical detail that readers have come to expect from Gregory, and she does draw on real historical events for the adventures her characters get into. In Changeling, we see young Luca, a novice priest in Italy whose parents have been abducted by galley slavers from the Ottoman Empire (he thinks) who has been drafted into a shadowy secret order that investigates the supernatural in hopes of divining the end of days. His first mission is to investigate an abbey where highborn lady Isolde has been banished by her nefarious brother after their father's death.
Adults reading the book (and indeed the rest of the series--this is the first installment of a quartet) may find the plot a little predictable, and certainly nothing as horrible happens in this book as does in some of Gregory's adult books. But the characters are certainly engaging. The ones to really watch are Frieze and Ishrak, Luca and Isolde's servants, who provide comic relief, and the daring, knowledgeable women that people love to see in historical fiction.
Will this become one of my favorite books of all time? Probably not. But it was good enough that I am reading the rest of the series.
Adults reading the book (and indeed the rest of the series--this is the first installment of a quartet) may find the plot a little predictable, and certainly nothing as horrible happens in this book as does in some of Gregory's adult books. But the characters are certainly engaging. The ones to really watch are Frieze and Ishrak, Luca and Isolde's servants, who provide comic relief, and the daring, knowledgeable women that people love to see in historical fiction.
Will this become one of my favorite books of all time? Probably not. But it was good enough that I am reading the rest of the series.
More reviews at Rondo of a Possible World: YA Book Reviews
I just couldn't finished this book. After reading the synopsis and the title you would think that the whole Changeling aspect would take up much if not most of the plot. Or since the title is series is called The Order of Darkness, it would be mentions now and again. No. And there is talk of werewolves, alchemists, witches, death-dancers and the sort in this book. Still no mention of them. If you're going to talk about these things, don't mention it in the beginning just to have it pop up at the end and leave the whole middle just a giant filler for romance that I couldn't even connect upon.
Same with the characters, there was no level for me to connect or even feel. I did in the beginning with Isolde. I love that name, by the way. I felt for her because her brother is a giant douche. And I failed to be captivated by Luca, who's suppose to be this handsome character. He was bland and just a name on a page to me. I just couldn't hold my attention at all during this story. Some parts were really good but the nunnery scenes bored me to tears until the death of one of them and the whole witch naming starts up. That was the only time I became interested in the story and then it just went down hill again from there.
Final Summation: I read 3/4ths of this novel and couldn't do it anymore. I though I would enjoy it, but this is the second novel taken place in Italy that really disappointed me. For a novel named Changeling and the series being known as the Order of Darkness, I can't fathom how it didn't make an appearance during most of the book.
I just couldn't finished this book. After reading the synopsis and the title you would think that the whole Changeling aspect would take up much if not most of the plot. Or since the title is series is called The Order of Darkness, it would be mentions now and again. No. And there is talk of werewolves, alchemists, witches, death-dancers and the sort in this book. Still no mention of them. If you're going to talk about these things, don't mention it in the beginning just to have it pop up at the end and leave the whole middle just a giant filler for romance that I couldn't even connect upon.
Same with the characters, there was no level for me to connect or even feel. I did in the beginning with Isolde. I love that name, by the way. I felt for her because her brother is a giant douche. And I failed to be captivated by Luca, who's suppose to be this handsome character. He was bland and just a name on a page to me. I just couldn't hold my attention at all during this story. Some parts were really good but the nunnery scenes bored me to tears until the death of one of them and the whole witch naming starts up. That was the only time I became interested in the story and then it just went down hill again from there.
Final Summation: I read 3/4ths of this novel and couldn't do it anymore. I though I would enjoy it, but this is the second novel taken place in Italy that really disappointed me. For a novel named Changeling and the series being known as the Order of Darkness, I can't fathom how it didn't make an appearance during most of the book.
Ok, I am a big fan of Gregory but this just fell reaaaallllly short. I don't know if she thought she didn't have to try that hard since it's a YA novel or what, but oy. I barely forced myself to finish it. It started off ok (well, ignoring the very, very beginning. Handgun? Really?), but then just bleh.
Historical fiction about the church was always going to be misogynistic, but for a book with relatively progressive solutions to the problems they faced, not a single man was progressive in their views of women, and I found some of their behaviour rather disturbing. Watching women bathe, ignoring a woman's no and then getting acting like she is the problem when he gets put in his place, a shame, since until that point I liked that character. Considering the romances that were clearly being set up, it almost feels as though this is being written as acceptable behaviour. Even historical fiction can find ways to make it clear that it isn't, even if it was the common worldview of the time. Additionally, this book felt more like 2 separate short stories than one cohesive book, nor did it feel as though it had a proper ending. If it were one book of all the stories of their adventures, that would be fine, or even a few, but 2 feels like a strange choice.
I have been reading Philippa Gregory's books for years, so when I heard she was going to write a series of young adult novels I was excited!
Changeling takes place in Italy during the 13th century. Its a dark time for many people and the Catholic Church foresees the end of the world approaching. Many weird and mysterious events are being reported around Europe.
Luca's parents had tried unsuccessfully to have children for years. So it shocked their small village when they had Luca in their older years. Many towns people speculated that Luca was a changeling - child of the fairies. Luca didn't mind that his parents were older than most and he ignored the gossip of the town about his past. But Luca's peaceful childhood was turned upside down when his parents mysteriously disappeared; believed to have been taken by Ottamans. With no other family to take him in Luca is sent to the monestary and becomes a novice priest. Luca was always good with numbers and always felt the need to know and to understand everything. At the age of seventeen, Luca is kicked out of the monestary when he questions the valitity of the monestary's relic. BElieveing that he is being sent to be tried as a heretic, Luca meets with a man who says he works directly for the Pope. He offers Luca the opportunity to travel the world as an Inquisitor and investigating the weird and unusual events being reported. He will document the coming of the end of the world.
Isolde loved her father. But his death and the events that took place immediately after have crushed her. Upon her father's death, Isolde believed that she would inherit her childhood home. But Isolde's brother says that their father changed his will on his deathbead. Isolde will inherit nothing. Her only choices are to marry or be sent to the convent. When Isolde refuses her brother's suitor for marriage, she is sent to the convent to become the new Lady Abbess. Isolde can take one thing with her: Ishraq, her trusted friend and maid. Despite that fact that Ishraq is an Ottaman and considered by many to be a heretic, Isolde sees her as her sister.
Strange events begin taking place at the convent soon after Isolde's arrival. Nuns are sleepwalking, being branded with the stigmata and having strange dreams and visions. Word of these events have spread and people believe that the Devil has taken control of the convent. And they believe Isolde and Ishraq are at the heart of it.
The characters' stories merge when Luca is sent to uncover the truth behind the convent's strange occurances.
I had high hopes for Changeling. And though it was a good read, I wasn't in love with it. I would like to continue the series. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a bit of mystery mixed in.
For me however, unlike Gregory's other books, The Other Boleyn Girl or The Queen's Fool, I don't see myself reading and rereading this book.
Changeling takes place in Italy during the 13th century. Its a dark time for many people and the Catholic Church foresees the end of the world approaching. Many weird and mysterious events are being reported around Europe.
Luca's parents had tried unsuccessfully to have children for years. So it shocked their small village when they had Luca in their older years. Many towns people speculated that Luca was a changeling - child of the fairies. Luca didn't mind that his parents were older than most and he ignored the gossip of the town about his past. But Luca's peaceful childhood was turned upside down when his parents mysteriously disappeared; believed to have been taken by Ottamans. With no other family to take him in Luca is sent to the monestary and becomes a novice priest. Luca was always good with numbers and always felt the need to know and to understand everything. At the age of seventeen, Luca is kicked out of the monestary when he questions the valitity of the monestary's relic. BElieveing that he is being sent to be tried as a heretic, Luca meets with a man who says he works directly for the Pope. He offers Luca the opportunity to travel the world as an Inquisitor and investigating the weird and unusual events being reported. He will document the coming of the end of the world.
Isolde loved her father. But his death and the events that took place immediately after have crushed her. Upon her father's death, Isolde believed that she would inherit her childhood home. But Isolde's brother says that their father changed his will on his deathbead. Isolde will inherit nothing. Her only choices are to marry or be sent to the convent. When Isolde refuses her brother's suitor for marriage, she is sent to the convent to become the new Lady Abbess. Isolde can take one thing with her: Ishraq, her trusted friend and maid. Despite that fact that Ishraq is an Ottaman and considered by many to be a heretic, Isolde sees her as her sister.
Strange events begin taking place at the convent soon after Isolde's arrival. Nuns are sleepwalking, being branded with the stigmata and having strange dreams and visions. Word of these events have spread and people believe that the Devil has taken control of the convent. And they believe Isolde and Ishraq are at the heart of it.
The characters' stories merge when Luca is sent to uncover the truth behind the convent's strange occurances.
I had high hopes for Changeling. And though it was a good read, I wasn't in love with it. I would like to continue the series. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a bit of mystery mixed in.
For me however, unlike Gregory's other books, The Other Boleyn Girl or The Queen's Fool, I don't see myself reading and rereading this book.
Awful. Terrible. I gave up after what felt like a lifetime of persevering. I'm a big PG fan but this wasn't her usual greatness. I'll probably steer clear of this series to be honest, save myself the pain...
